Vehicle and control method thereof

ABSTRACT

A vehicle includes: a position-adjustable steering wheel, a position-adjustable driver&#39;s seat, a display extending on the dashboard from one side facing the driver&#39;s seat to another side in which a center fascia is disposed, at least one image sensor configured to capture a vehicle interior image to obtain the vehicle interior image, a storage configured to store driver&#39;s seat positioning information of the driver&#39;s seat and steering wheel positioning information of the steering wheel, and a controller configured to obtain eye position information indicating a position of each of eyes of the driver with respect to the steering wheel based on at least one of the driver&#39;s seat positioning information or the vehicle interior image, determine a covered area on the display, covered by the steering wheel, based on the eye position information and the steering wheel positioning information, and adjust an output position of an image output on the display based on the covered area.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2018-0115416 filed on Sep. 28, 2018 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle capable of controlling adisplay covered by a steering wheel and a control method thereof.

BACKGROUND

In general, a cluster providing information to a driver by displayingthe information in a digital or analog format is installed in theinterior of a vehicle, in front of a driver's seat. In addition, thevehicle includes a central information display (CID) located in a centerfascia to display information regarding a video display, a navigationsystem, or the like.

Recently, researches on integrated displays in which the cluster and theCID are integrated into a single display have been actively undertaken,in consideration of installation space, visibility, operability, andmarketability.

SUMMARY

It is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide a vehicleconfigured to provide an image to a driver by adjusting an outputposition of the image on a display, covered by a steering wheel, and acontrol method of the vehicle.

Additional aspects of the disclosure will be set forth in part in thedescription which follows and, in part, will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicleincludes: a position-adjustable steering wheel; a position-adjustabledriver's seat; a display extending on the dashboard from one side facingthe driver's seat to another side in which a center fascia is disposed;at least one image sensor configured to capture a vehicle interior imageincluding a facial image of a driver; a storage configured to storedriver's seat positioning information of the driver's seat and steeringwheel positioning information of the steering wheel; and a controllerconfigured to obtain eye position information indicating a position ofeach of eyes of the driver with respect to the steering wheel based onat least one of the driver's seat positioning information and thevehicle interior image, determine a covered area on the display, coveredby the steering wheel based on the eye position information and thesteering wheel positioning information, and adjust an output position ofan image output on the display based on the covered area.

The driver's seat positioning information may include at least one ofposition information of the driver's seat and angle information of thedriver's seat.

The controller may obtain the eye position information by determining adistance and an angle between the steering wheel and the driver's seatbased on the driver's seat positioning information and determining theposition of the eyes of the driver based on the distance and the anglebetween the steering wheel and the driver's seat and driver heightinformation.

The at least one image sensor may include at least one of a cameraconfigured to capture the vehicle interior image in a visible lightrange and an infrared (IR) camera configured to capture the vehicleinterior image in an IR ray range.

The controller may obtain the eye position information by determining adistance and an angle between the steering wheel and the eyes of thedriver based on the vehicle interior image captured by the at least oneimage sensor and determining the position of the eyes of the driverbased on the distance and the angle between the steering wheel and theeyes of the driver.

The eye position information may include distance information betweenthe steering wheel and the position of the eyes of the driver and angleinformation between the steering wheel and the position of the eyes ofthe driver.

The controller may determine whether or not an image to be output in thecovered area of the display is present.

When the image to be output in the covered area is present, thecontroller may compare a type of the image with previously-stored imagetype data and determine whether or not the type of the image correspondsto an adjustment target type (or a type to be adjusted) included in theimage type data.

The adjustment target type may include at least one of a rear sideimage, a rear image, and driving information of the vehicle.

The vehicle may further include an input device receiving an input ofthe driver. The controller may update the image type data by determiningthe adjustment target type based on the input of the driver.

When the type of the image corresponds to the adjustment target type,the controller may adjust the output position of the image to be in anarea other than the covered area.

The controller may control the display to output the image based on theadjusted output position of the image.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a controlmethod of a vehicle includes: obtaining a vehicle interior imageincluding a facial image of a driver using at least one image sensor;obtaining driver's seat positioning information of a driver's seat andsteering wheel positioning information of the steering wheel stored in astorage, wherein the driver's seat and the steering wheel areposition-adjustable; obtaining eye position information indicating aposition of each of eyes of the driver with respect to the steeringwheel based on at least one of the driver's seat positioning informationand the vehicle interior image; determining a covered area, which iscovered by the steering wheel on a display, based on the eye positioninformation and the steering wheel positioning information, wherein thedisplay extends from one side of a dashboard facing the driver's seat toanother side of the dashboard, in which a center fascia is disposed; andadjusting an output position of an image output on the display based onthe covered area.

The driver's seat positioning information may include at least one ofposition information of the driver's seat and angle information of thedriver's seat.

The obtaining of the eye position information may include: determining adistance and an angle between the steering wheel and the driver's seatbased on the driver's seat positioning information; and determining theposition of the eyes of the driver based on the distance and the anglebetween the steering wheel and the driver's seat and driver heightinformation.

The vehicle interior image may include at least one of the vehicleinterior image in a visible light range and the vehicle interior imagein an IR ray range.

The obtaining of the eye position information may include: determining adistance and an angle between the steering wheel and the eyes of thedriver based on the vehicle interior image captured by the at least oneimage sensor; and determining the position of the eyes of the driverbased on the distance and the angle between the steering wheel and theeyes of the driver.

The eye position information may include distance information betweenthe steering wheel and the position of the eyes of the driver and angleinformation between the steering wheel and the position of the eyes ofthe driver.

The control method may further include determining whether or not animage to be output in the covered area of the display is present.

The control method may further include, when the image to be output inthe covered area is present, comparing a type of the image withpreviously-stored image type data and determining whether or not thetype of the image corresponds to an adjustment target type included inthe image type data.

The adjustment target type may include at least one of a rear sideimage, a rear image, and driving information of the vehicle.

The control method may further include: receiving an input of thedriver; and updating the image type data by determining the adjustmenttarget type based on the input of the driver.

The control method may further include, when the type of the imagecorresponds to the adjustment target type, adjusting the output positionof the image to be in an area other than the covered area.

The control method may further include controlling the display to outputthe image based on the adjusted output position of the image.

A vehicle and control method of a vehicle according to an aspect providean image, not covered by a steering wheel, to a driver by adjusting anoutput position of the image on a display covered by the steering wheel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent andmore readily appreciated from the following description of theembodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings ofwhich:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the interior of a vehicle according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the vehicle according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a covered area on a display, covered by asteering wheel, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a situation in which the vehicle accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure determines aposition of eyes of a driver;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a situation in which an image is locatedin the covered area in the vehicle according to an exemplary embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a situation in which the vehicle according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure adjusts an outputposition of the image located in the covered area;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of obtaining eye positioninformation based on driver's seat positioning information in a controlmethod of the vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a process of obtaining eye positioninformation based on a vehicle interior image in the control method ofthe vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process of adjusting the outputposition of the image in the control method of the vehicle according toan exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Throughout this document, the same reference numerals and symbols willbe used to designate the same or like components. In the followingdescription of the present disclosure, detailed descriptions of knownfunctions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted whenthe subject matter of the present disclosure may be rendered ratherunclear thereby.

It will be understood herein that, when a portion is referred to asbeing “connected to” another portion, not only can it be “directlyconnected to” the other portion, but it can also be “indirectlyconnected to” the other portion. When the portion is referred to asbeing indirectly connected to the other portion, the portion may beconnected to the other portion via a wireless communications network.

It will be understood that the terms “comprise,” “include,” “have,” andany variations thereof used herein are intended to cover non-exclusiveinclusions unless explicitly described to the contrary.

Descriptions of components in the singular form used herein are intendedto include descriptions of components in the plural form, unlessexplicitly described to the contrary.

As used herein, the terms, such as “unit,” “device,” “block,” “member,”and “module,” may refer to a unit processing at least one function oroperation. For example, these terms may mean at least one piece ofhardware, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), at least one piece ofsoftware stored in memory, or at least one process processed by aprocessor.

The reference numerals or symbols in respective stages are only used todistinguish the respective stages from the other stages, and do notnecessarily describe an order of the respective stages. The respectivestages may be performed in a different order from the described order,unless a specific order is described in the context.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a vehicle and a control method thereofaccording to an aspect of the present disclosure will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an interior of a vehicle 100 according toan embodiment, FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the vehicle 100according to an embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a coveredarea 300 on a display 110, covered by a steering wheel 120, according toan embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the display 110, the steering wheel 120, adriver's seat 130, a front passenger seat 135, at least one image sensor140, input devices 170, and a dashboard 210 are provided in the interiorof the vehicle 100. The dashboard 210 refers to a panel dividing theinterior and the engine compartment of the vehicle 100 and accommodatinga variety of components required for driving installed therein. Thedashboard 210 is provided ahead of the driver's seat 130 and the frontpassenger seat 135. The dashboard 210 may include an upper panel, acenter fascia 211, a center console 215, and the like.

The center fascia 211 may be installed in a central portion of thedashboard 210, and be provided in a space between the driver's seat 130and the front passenger seat 135.

The display 110 may be installed in the dashboard 210. The display 110according to an embodiment may be disposed to extend laterally from aportion of the dashboard 210, ahead of the driver's seat 130, to anotherportion of the dashboard 210, ahead of a space between the driver's seat130 and the front passenger seat 135.

That is, the display 110 according to an embodiment may be disposed toextend from an area of the dashboard 210 facing the driver's seat 130 toanother area of the dashboard 210, in which the center fascia 211 isprovided.

In addition, differently from the drawings, the area in which thedisplay 110 according to an embodiment is disposed may further extend toa portion of the area ahead of the front passenger seat 135.

As described above, the display 110 may have a large output arealaterally elongated on the dashboard 210 of the vehicle 100 to displayvarious pieces of information thereon.

The display 110 according to an embodiment may provide various pieces ofinformation to the driver of the vehicle 100 using images. For example,the display 110 may visually provide various pieces of information, suchas a map, weather, news, various video or still images, and informationregarding the status or operation of the vehicle 100, e.g. informationregarding an air conditioner.

Specifically, the display 110 according to an embodiment may outputcluster display information, information regarding an audio, video, andnavigation (ANV) system, information regarding the air conditioner, andinformation regarding devices within the vehicle 100, using images. Thedisplay 110 may output various pieces of information in response to acontrol signal of a controller 150, which will be described later.

Here, the cluster display information may include pieces of informationdisplayed on an existing cluster. For example, the cluster displayinformation may include driving information, such as a vehicle speed, anengine revolutions per minute (RPM), a cooling water temperature, a fuellevel, a shift gear status, a driven distance, and a drivable distance,as well as information indicating an operating status of a variety ofdevices within the vehicle, a warning status, such as an unfastened seatbelt or an open door, or the like.

In addition, the information regarding the AVN system may include knownpieces of information provided by audio, video, and navigation devices.For example, the information regarding the AVN system may includeinformation regarding an operating status of audio and video devices,information regarding video images, sound sources, and images,navigation display information regarding a map on which a driving routeis displayed or the like, and device-related setting information.

Furthermore, the information regarding the air conditioner may be knownpieces of information regarding the air conditioner, including displayinformation provided by an air conditioning controller, i.e. informationregarding an operating status, an operating mode, and the like of theair conditioner, set information regarding air conditioning, and otherpieces of information, such as an indoor temperature and an outdoortemperature.

In addition, the information regarding the devices within the vehicle100 may include information regarding an operating status, an operatingmode, and the like of a convenience device, such as a ventilation seat,and the other devices within the vehicle 100, set information regardingsuch devices, and the like.

In addition, the display 110 according to an embodiment may output anexternal image of the vehicle received from cameras disposed on outersurfaces of the vehicle 100.

For example, the external image of the vehicle may include a forwardimage captured using a forward-facing camera (not shown) provided on afront portion of the vehicle 100, a rear image captured using arear-facing camera (not shown) provided on a rear portion of the vehicle100, and rear side images captured using side cameras (not shown)provided on side portions of the vehicle 100.

The display 110 according to an embodiment may simultaneously output twoor more pieces of information among the cluster display information, theinformation regarding the AVN system, the information regarding the airconditioner and the devices within the vehicle 100, and the externalimage of the vehicle by dividing an output area of the display 110.

Various types of devices, such as a processor, a communication module, asatellite navigation system receiver module, and a storage device, maybe installed inside the dashboard 210. The processor installed in thevehicle 100 may be provided to control a variety of electronic devicesinstalled in the vehicle 100 and may be provided to serve as thecontroller 150, which will be described later. The above-describeddevices may be implemented using a variety of components, such as asemiconductor chip, a switch, an integrated circuit (IC), a resistor,volatile or non-volatile memory, or a printed circuit board (PCB).

The center fascia 211 may be installed in the central portion of thedashboard 210. Input devices 170 a to 170 c, allowing a variety ofinstructions related to the vehicle 100 to be input, may be provided.Each of the input devices 170 a to 170 c may be implemented using aphysical button, a knob, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a control stick, atrackball, or the like.

The center console 215 is provided below the center fascia 211, betweenthe driver's seat 130 and the front passenger seat 135. A gear stick216, a console 217, and a variety of input devices 170 d and 170 e, andthe like may be provided in the center console 215. Each of the inputdevices 170 d and 170 e may be implemented using a physical button, aknob, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a control stick, a trackball, or thelike. The console 217 and the input devices 170 d and 170 e may beomitted according to embodiments.

In addition, the input devices 170 may be integrated with the display110 and be implemented using a touchscreen. The input devices 170 may belocated without limitations in any place in which the input devices 170may receive inputs of the driver.

The driver may control a variety of operations of the vehicle 100 bymanipulating the input devices 170.

For example, the input devices 170 according to an embodiment mayreceive positioning information of the driver's seat 130 (hereinafter,referred to as “driver's seat positioning information”) and positioninginformation of the steering wheel 120 (hereinafter, referred to as“steering wheel positioning information”) from the driver. Thecontroller 150, which will be described later, may adjust positions andangles of the driver's seat 130 and the steering wheel 120 based on thedriver's seat positioning information and the steering wheel positioninginformation input via the input devices 170.

That is, the driver's seat 130 according to an embodiment may bepositioned according to the input of the driver using the input devices170. In addition, the steering wheel 120 according to an embodiment maybe positioned according to the input of the driver using the inputdevices 170. This will be described in detail later.

The steering wheel 120 and the at least one image sensor 140 areprovided on the dashboard 210, ahead of the driver's seat 130.

The steering wheel 120 is provided to be rotatable in a predetermineddirection in response to the manipulation of the driver, and front orrear wheels of the vehicle 100 may be turned along the direction inwhich the steering wheel 120 rotates, so that the vehicle 100 may besteered. The steering wheel 120 may have a circular shape for driverconvenience, but the shape of the steering wheel 120 is not limitedthereto.

In addition, the at least one image sensor 140 may be provided on atleast one side of the steering wheel 120 in the front direction of thedriver. Specifically, the at least one image sensor 140 according to anembodiment may be provided on a rear side of the steering wheel 120. Forexample, the at least one image sensor 140 may be provided between thesteering wheel 120 and the dashboard 210. Here, the position of the atleast one image sensor 140 may include, without limitations, anyposition provided on at least one side of the steering wheel 120, aslong as the at least one image sensor 140 may capture an image of theinterior of the vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as a “vehicle interiorimage”) including a facial image of the driver, in that position.

That is, the at least one image sensor 140 according to an embodimentmay capture the vehicle interior image including the facial image of thedriver. The controller 150, which will be described later, may determinea position of eyes of the driver based on the vehicle interior imagecaptured by the at least one image sensor 140.

The at least one image sensor 140 according to an embodiment may includeat least one camera to capture the vehicle interior image in a visiblelight range.

In addition, the at least one image sensor 140 according to anembodiment may include an infrared (IR) camera to capture the vehicleinterior image in an IR ray range. Accordingly, the at least one imagesensor 140 may capture a facial image of the driver based on the vehicleinterior image in the IR ray range, even in the case in which the facialimage of the driver cannot be captured based on the vehicle interiorimage in the visible light range.

Referring to FIG. 3, since the display 110 is disposed to extend fromone area of the dashboard 210 facing the driver's seat 130 to anotherarea of the dashboard 210, in which the center fascia 211 is provided,the display 110 may be covered by the steering wheel 120.

That is, a covered area 300 covered by the steering wheel 120 may bepresent in the output area of the display 110. In other words, in thevehicle 100, the covered area 300 on the display 110 may be generated bythe steering wheel 120.

Thus, the driver cannot view an image located within the covered area300 of the display 110, and must move his or her body to watch the imagein the covered area 300.

When information indicated by the image located in the covered area 300corresponds to important information for driving of the vehicle 100, theprobability of the occurrence of a vehicle accident may be increased.The important information may be, for example, driving information, suchas a vehicle speed, an engine RPM, a cooling water temperature, a fuellevel, a shift gear status, a driven distance, and a drivable distance.

In addition, when the driver of the vehicle 100 moves his or her body tocheck information indicated by the image present in the covered area300, the probability of the occurrence of a vehicle accident may beincreased.

Accordingly, when the vehicle 100 according to an embodiment has thedisplay 110 extending from one area of the dashboard 210 facing thedriver's seat 130 to another area in the dashboard 210, in which thecenter fascia 211 is provided, the vehicle 100 may adjust an outputposition of an image located in the covered area 300 covered by thesteering wheel 120 to provide an uncovered image to the driver.Hereinafter, the controller 150 adjusting the output position of theimage on the display 110 will be described.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the controller 150 according to an embodimentmay obtain eye position information indicating the position of the eyesof the driver with respect to the steering wheel 120.

The controller 150 may determine the covered area 300 on the display110, covered by the steering wheel 120, by obtaining the eye positioninformation.

Specifically, the controller 150 according to an embodiment may obtainthe eye position information indicating the position of the eyes of thedriver with respect to the steering wheel 120 based on the driver's seatpositioning information.

The driver's seat positioning information may include positioninformation of the driver's seat 130 and angle information of thedriver's seat 130. The position information of the driver's seat 130 mayinclude front-rear position information of a cushion of the driver'sseat and height information of the cushion of the driver's seat. Theangle information of the driver's seat 130 may include angle informationof a backrest of the driver's seat.

The driver's seat positioning information may be input by the driverusing the input devices 170. The controller 150 may adjust the positionand angle of the driver's seat 130 based on the input driver's seatpositioning information.

In addition, the driver's seat positioning information may be stored ina storage 160, which will be described later. The controller 150according to an embodiment may obtain the driver's seat positioninginformation in determination of the covered area 300 from the storage160.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may determine a distancebetween the steering wheel 120 and the driver's seat 130 and an anglebetween the steering wheel 120 and the driver's seat 130 based on thedriver's seat positioning information.

The controller 150 may determine the position of the eyes of the driverbased on the distance and angle between the steering wheel 120 and thedriver's seat 130 and driver height information, and obtain the eyeposition information based on the determined position of the eyes of thedriver.

The driver height information according to an embodiment may correspondto height information of the driver input by the driver using the inputdevices 170 and stored in the storage 160.

In addition, the driver height information according to an embodimentmay correspond to average height information of adults stored in thestorage 160.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may obtain the eyeposition information indicating the position of the eyes of the driverwith respect to the steering wheel 120 based on the vehicle interiorimage captured by the at least one image sensor 140.

The controller 150 may determine a distance between the steering wheel120 and the eyes of the driver and an angle between the steering wheel120 and the eyes of the driver based on the vehicle interior imagecaptured by the at least one image sensor 140.

The controller 150 may determine the position of the eyes of the driverbased on the distance between the steering wheel 120 and the eyes of thedriver and the angle between the steering wheel 120 and the eyes of thedriver, and obtain the eye position information based on the position ofthe eyes of the driver.

That is, the controller 150 according to an embodiment may obtain theeye position information indicating the position of the eyes of thedriver with respect to the steering wheel 120 based on at least one ofthe driver's seat positioning information and the vehicle interiorimage.

The eye position information according to an embodiment may includedistance information between the steering wheel 120 and the eyes of thedriver and angle information between the steering wheel 120 and the eyesof the driver.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may determine the coveredarea 300 on the display 110, covered by the steering wheel 120, based onthe eye position information and the steering wheel positioninginformation.

Specifically, the controller 150 may determine the covered area 300based on the eye position information indicating the position of theeyes of the driver with respect to the steering wheel 120 and thesteering wheel positioning information indicating the position and angleof the steering wheel 120.

The controller 150 may determine the covered area 300 on the display110, covered from the driver's view by the steering wheel 120, based onthe distance information between the steering wheel 120 and the positionof the eyes of the driver and the angle information between the steeringwheel 120 and the position of the eyes of the driver.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may generate a pluralityof virtual lines linearly connecting the position of the eyes of thedriver and a plurality of points on the display 110 based on the eyeposition information, and determine some virtual lines, among theplurality of virtual lines, which are covered by the steering wheel 120and not directly connected to the display 110, based on the steeringwheel positioning information.

The controller 150 may determine the covered area 300 on the display110, covered by the steering wheel 120, based on some virtual linescovered by the steering wheel 120 and not directly connected to thedisplay 110 among the plurality of virtual lines.

The steering wheel positioning information may include at least one ofposition information of the steering wheel 120 and angle information ofthe steering wheel 120. The position information of the steering wheel120 may include height information of the steering wheel 120 based onthe floor surface of the vehicle 100, and the angle information of thesteering wheel 120 may correspond to an angle of the steering wheel 120oriented with respect to the floor surface of the vehicle 100.

The steering wheel positioning information may be input by the driverusing the input devices 170. The controller 150 may adjust the positionand angle of the steering wheel 120 based on the input steering wheelpositioning information.

In addition, the steering wheel positioning information may be stored inthe storage 160, which will be described later. The controller 150according to an embodiment may obtain the steering wheel positioninginformation in determination of the covered area 300 from the storage160.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may adjust the outputposition of an image output on the display 110 based on the covered area300.

Specifically, the controller 150 according to an embodiment maydetermine whether or not an image to be output in the covered area 300of the display 110 is present.

When the image to be output in the covered area 300 is present, thecontroller 150 may compare a type of the image located in the coveredarea 300 with previously-stored image type data to determine whether ornot the type of the image located in the covered area 300 corresponds toa type to be adjusted (hereinafter, referred to as an “adjustment targettype”) included in the image type data.

The image type data is stored in the storage 160, which will bedescribed later, and includes a preset list of adjustment target typesin order to determine a degree of importance of the image located in thecovered area 300.

The adjustment target types according to an embodiment may include theexternal image of the vehicle, output on the display 110 as an image.The external image of the vehicle may correspond to informationessentially required for safe driving of the vehicle 100. When theexternal image of the vehicle is located in the covered area 300 and thedriver does not receive the external image of the vehicle, theprobability of a vehicle accident may be increased. The external imageof the vehicle may include, for example, a forward image, a rear image,and rear side images.

The adjustment target types according to an embodiment may include thedriving information output on the display 110 as an image. The drivinginformation may correspond to information essentially required for safedriving of the vehicle 100. When the driving information is located inthe covered area 300 and the driver does not receive the drivinginformation, the probability of a vehicle accident may be increased. Thedriving information may include a vehicle speed, an engine RPM, acooling water temperature, a fuel level, a shift gear status, a drivendistance, a drivable distance, and the like.

The external image of the vehicle and the driving information, which maybe directly related to safe driving of the vehicle 100, as describedabove, may be set as default values of the adjustment target types andincluded in the image type data.

Accordingly, when the external image of the vehicle and the drivinginformation are located in the covered area 300, the controller 150 mayadjust the output position of an image indicating the external image ofthe vehicle and the driving information, so that the driver may receivethe external image of the vehicle and the driving information, which arenot covered.

In addition, the adjustment target types according to an embodiment maybe set based on inputs made by the driver using the input devices 170.That is, the driver may set adjustment target types to be outputposition adjustment targets among images located within the covered area300 using the input devices 170.

Specifically, the controller 150 according to an embodiment maydetermine the adjustment target types based on inputs of the driver, andupdate the image type data based on the determined adjustment targettypes.

Accordingly, the vehicle 100 may adjust the output position of a type ofimage set by the driver among images located in the covered area 300 soas to provide the type of image desired by the driver.

When the image located in the covered area 300 corresponds to anadjustment target type, the controller 150 according to an embodimentmay adjust the output position of the image located in the covered area300 so as to be in an area other than the covered area 300. That is, thecontroller 150 may move the image located in the covered area 300 to anarea other than the covered area 300.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may control the display110 to output the image in the area other than the covered area 300based on the adjusted output position of the image located in thecovered area 300.

As described above, the controller 150 may provide an image not coveredby the steering wheel 120 to the driver by adjusting the output positionof an image located in the covered area 300 on the display 110 coveredby the steering wheel 120. Accordingly, the driver may be provided withthe image not covered by the steering wheel 120 on the display 110,under the control of the controller 150.

The controller 150 may include at least one memory in which a programperforming the foregoing and following operations is stored and at leastone processor executing the stored program. A plurality of memories anda plurality of processors may be integrated into a single chip or may bedistributed to physically separated locations.

The storage 160 according to an embodiment may store the driver's seatpositioning information indicating the position and angle of thedriver's seat 130 in the vehicle 100 and the steering wheel positioninginformation indicating the position and angle of the steering wheel 120in the vehicle 100.

In addition, the storage 160 may store driver height informationindicating at least one of the height information of the driver inputvia the input devices 170, and the average height information of adults.

In addition, the storage 160 may store image type data including a listof adjustment target types forming references for the adjustment of theoutput position of the image located in the covered area 300, and maystore various pieces of information regarding the vehicle 100.

The storage 160 may be implemented using one selected from among, butnot limited to, a nonvolatile memory device, such as a cache, read onlymemory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM(EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), and flashmemory; a volatile memory device, such as random access memory (RAM);and a storage medium, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or compact discread only memory (CD-ROM), in order to store various pieces ofinformation.

In addition, the vehicle 100 may include a communication modulesupporting vehicle network communications, such as controller areanetwork (CAN) communications, local interconnect network (LIN)communications, and flex-ray communications. The display 110, thesteering wheel 120, the driver's seat 130, the at least one image sensor140, the controller 150, the storage 160, and the input devices 170 ofthe vehicle 100 may transmit and receive information to and from eachother via communications modules.

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a situation in which the vehicle 100according to an embodiment determines a position 450 of the eyes of adriver 400.

Referring to FIG. 4, the controller 150 according to an embodiment mayobtain eye position information indicating the position 450 of the eyesof the driver 400 with respect to the steering wheel 120.

The controller 150 may determine the covered area 300 on the display110, covered by the steering wheel 120, by obtaining the eye positioninformation.

Specifically, the controller 150 according to an embodiment may obtainthe eye position information indicating the position 450 of the eyes ofthe driver 400 with respect to the steering wheel 120 based on thedriver's seat positioning information.

The driver's seat positioning information may include at least one ofposition information of the driver's seat 130 and angle information ofthe driver's seat 130. The position information of the driver's seat 130may include front-rear position information of a cushion 131 of thedriver's seat 130 and height information of the cushion 131 of thedriver's seat 130. The angle information of the driver's seat 130 mayinclude angle information of a backrest 132 of the driver's seat 130.

The driver's seat positioning information may be input by the driver 400using the input devices 170. The controller 150 may adjust the positionand angle of the driver's seat 130 based on the input driver's seatpositioning information.

Specifically, the controller 150 may adjust the front-rear position ofthe cushion 131 of the driver's seat 130 and the height of the cushion131 of the driver's seat 130 from the floor surface of the vehicle 100based on the input driver's seat positioning information. In addition,the controller 150 may adjust the angle of the backrest 132 of thedriver's seat 130 based on the input driver's seat positioninginformation.

In addition, the controller 150 according to an embodiment may obtainthe driver's seat positioning information in determination of thecovered area 300 from the storage 160, and obtain the positioninformation and the angle information of the driver's seat 130 from thedriver's seat positioning information.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may determine the distancebetween the steering wheel 120 and the driver's seat 130 and the anglebetween the steering wheel 120 and the driver's seat 130 based on thedriver's seat positioning information. Here, the controller 150considers the steering wheel positioning information indicating theposition and angle of the steering wheel 120.

The steering wheel positioning information may include at least one ofthe position information of the steering wheel 120 and the angleinformation of the steering wheel 120. The position information of thesteering wheel 120 may include the height information of the steeringwheel 120 with respect to the floor surface of the vehicle 100, and theangle information of the steering wheel 120 may correspond to the angleof the steering wheel 120 oriented with respect to the floor surface ofthe vehicle 100.

The steering wheel positioning information may be input by the driverusing the input devices 170. The controller 150 may adjust the positionand angle of the steering wheel 120 based on the input steering wheelpositioning information.

In addition, the steering wheel positioning information may be stored inthe storage 160. The controller 150 according to an embodiment mayobtain the steering wheel positioning information in determination ofthe covered area 300 from the storage 160, and obtain the positioninformation and angle information of the steering wheel 120 using theobtained steering wheel positioning information.

That is, the controller 150 may determine the distance between thesteering wheel 120 and the driver's seat 130 and the angle between thesteering wheel 120 and the driver's seat 130 by comparing the positioninformation and the angle information of the driver's seat 130 accordingto the driver's seat positioning information and the positioninformation and the angle information of the steering wheel 120according to the steering wheel positioning information.

The controller 150 may determine the position 450 of the eyes of thedriver 400 based on the distance and angle between the steering wheel120 and the driver's seat 130 and the driver height information, andobtain the eye position information based on the determined position 450of the eyes of the driver 400.

The driver height information according to an embodiment may correspondto the height information of the driver 400 which is input by the driver400 using the input devices 170 and stored in the storage 160.

In addition, the driver height information according to an embodimentmay correspond to the average height information of adults stored in thestorage 160.

The controller 150 may obtain distance information 410 between thesteering wheel 120 and the position 450 of the eyes of the driver 400and angle information 420 between the steering wheel 120 and theposition 450 of the eyes of the driver 400 based on the distance andangle between the steering wheel 120 and the driver's seat 130 and thedriver height information.

Specifically, the controller 150 may identify the position and angle ofthe driver's seat 130 based on the driver's seat positioninginformation, and estimate the position 450 of the eyes when the driver400 is seated on the driver's seat 130 based on the driver heightinformation.

That is, the controller 150 may estimate a sitting height of the driver400 based on the height information of the driver 400 or the averageheight information in the driver height information, and determine theposition 450 of the eyes of the driver 400 seated on the driver's seat130 based on the estimated sitting height of the driver 400.

The controller 150 may obtain the distance information 410 between thesteering wheel 120 and the position 450 of the eyes of the driver 400and the angle information 420 between the steering wheel 120 and theposition 450 of the eyes of the driver 400 based on the determinedposition 450 of the eyes and the distance and angle between the steeringwheel 120 and the driver's seat 130.

The controller 150 may determine the position 450 of the eyes of thedriver 400 with respect to the steering wheel 120 based on the obtaineddistance information 410 and the obtained angle information 420, andobtain the eye position information indicating the position 450 of theeyes of the driver 400 with respect to the steering wheel 120 based onthe determined position 450 of the eyes.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may obtain the eyeposition information indicating the position 450 of the eyes of thedriver 400 with respect to the steering wheel 120 based on the vehicleinterior image captured by the at least one image sensor 140.

The controller 150 may obtain the distance information 410 between thesteering wheel 120 and the position 450 of the eyes of the driver 400and the angle information 420 between the steering wheel 120 and theposition 450 of the eyes of the driver 400 based on the vehicle interiorimage captured by the at least one image sensor 140.

The at least one image sensor 140 according to an embodiment may beprovided on at least one side of the steering wheel 120 in the frontdirection of the driver 400. Specifically, the at least one image sensor140 according to an embodiment may be provided on a rear side of thesteering wheel 120. For example, the at least one image sensor 140 maybe provided between the steering wheel 120 and the dashboard 210.

Accordingly, the at least one image sensor 140 may be provided on atleast one side of the steering wheel 120 to capture a facial image ofthe driver 400. Thus, the vehicle interior image captured by the atleast one image sensor 140 includes the facial image of the driver 400captured from one side of the steering wheel 120.

The controller 150 may determine the position 450 of the eyes of thedriver 400 with respect to the steering wheel 120 based on the facialimage of the driver 400 captured from at least one side of the steeringwheel 120, and obtain the eye position information indicating theposition 450 of the eyes of the driver 400 with respect to the steeringwheel 120 based on the determined position 450 of the eyes.

That is, the controller 150 may measure the distance between thesteering wheel 120 and the eyes of the driver 400 and the angle betweenthe steering wheel 120 and the eyes of the driver 400 based on thefacial image of the driver 400 captured from at least one side of thesteering wheel 120, determine the position 450 of the eyes of the driver400 with respect to the steering wheel 120 based on the measureddistance and angle, and obtain the eye position information indicatingthe position 450 of the eyes of the driver 400 with respect to thesteering wheel 120 based on the determined position 450 of the eyes.

That is, the controller 150 according to an embodiment may obtain theeye position information indicating the position 450 of the eyes of thedriver 400 with respect to the steering wheel 120 based on at least oneof the driver's seat positioning information and the vehicle interiorimage. The eye position information may include the distance information410 between the steering wheel 120 and the position 450 of the eyes ofthe driver 400 and the angle information 420 between the steering wheel120 and the position 450 of the eyes of the driver 400.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a situation in which an image 500 islocated in the covered area 300 in the vehicle 100 according to anembodiment, and FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a situation in which thevehicle 100 according to an embodiment adjusts the output position ofthe image 500 located in the covered area 300.

Referring to FIG. 5, the image 500 may be located in the covered area300 on the display 110 according to an embodiment.

That is, the vehicle 100 according to an embodiment may have the coveredarea 300 on the display 110, covered by the steering wheel 120, and thedriver 400 may not receive the image 500 located in the covered area300.

Accordingly, the controller 150 according to an embodiment may determinethe covered area 300 on the display 110, covered by the steering wheel120, based on the eye position information and the steering wheelpositioning information.

Specifically, the controller 150 may determine the covered area 300based on the eye position information indicating the position 450 of theeyes of the driver 400 with respect to the steering wheel 120 and thesteering wheel positioning information indicating the position and angleof the steering wheel 120.

The controller 150 may determine the covered area 300 on the display110, covered from the driver's view by the steering wheel 120, based onthe distance information 410 between the steering wheel 120 and theposition 450 of the eyes of the driver 400 and the angle information 420between the steering wheel 120 and the position 450 of the eyes of thedriver 400.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may generate a pluralityof virtual lines linearly connecting the position 450 of the eyes of thedriver 400 and a plurality of points on the display 110 based on the eyeposition information, and determine some virtual lines among theplurality of virtual lines which are covered by the steering wheel 120and not directly connected to the display 110 based on the steeringwheel positioning information.

The controller 150 may determine the covered area 300 on the display110, covered by the steering wheel 120, based on some virtual linesamong the plurality of virtual lines which are covered by the steeringwheel 120 and not directly connected to the display 110.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may adjust an outputposition of the image 500 output on the display 110 based on the coveredarea 300. That is, the controller 150 may move the image 500 located inthe covered area 300 to an area other than the covered area 300.

Specifically, the controller 150 according to an embodiment maydetermine whether or not the image 500 to be output in the covered area300 of the display 110 is present.

Referring to FIG. 6, when the image 500 is present in the covered area300, the controller 150 may compare a type of the image 500 located inthe covered area 300 with the previously-stored image type data todetermine whether or not the type of the image 500 located in thecovered area 300 corresponds to an adjustment target type included inthe image type data.

The image type data may be stored in the storage 160, and may include apreset list of adjustment target types in order to determine a degree ofimportance of the image 500 located in the covered area 300. When thetype of the image 500 located in the covered area 300 corresponds to anadjustment target type included in the image type data, the controller150 may adjust the output position of the image 500 located in thecovered area 300 so as to be in an area other than the covered area 300.

The adjustment target types according to an embodiment may include theexternal image of the vehicle output on the display 110 as an image. Theexternal image of the vehicle may correspond to information essentiallyrequired for safe driving of the vehicle 100. When the external image ofthe vehicle is located in the covered area 300 and the driver does notreceive the external image of the vehicle, the probability of a vehicleaccident may be increased. The external image of the vehicle mayinclude, for example, a forward image, a rear image, and rear sideimages.

The adjustment target types according to an embodiment may include thedriving information output on the display 110 as an image. The drivinginformation may correspond to information essentially required for safedriving of the vehicle 100. When the driving information is located inthe covered area 300 and the driver does not receive the drivinginformation, the probability of a vehicle accident may be increased. Thedriving information may include a vehicle speed, an engine RPM, acooling water temperature, a fuel level, a shift gear status, a drivendistance, a drivable distance, and the like.

The external image of the vehicle and the driving information, which maybe directly related to safe driving of the vehicle 100, as describedabove, may be set as default values of the adjustment target types andincluded in the image type data.

Accordingly, when the external image of the vehicle and the drivinginformation are located in the covered area 300, the controller 150 mayadjust the output position of the image 500 indicating the externalimage of the vehicle and the driving information, so that the driver mayreceive the external image of the vehicle and the driving information,which are not covered.

In addition, the adjustment target types according to an embodiment maybe set based on inputs made by the driver 400 using the input devices170. That is, the driver 400 may set adjustment target types to beoutput position adjustment targets in the image 500 located in thecovered area 300 using the input devices 170.

Specifically, the controller 150 according to an embodiment maydetermine the adjustment target types based on inputs of the driver 400,and update the image type data based on the determined adjustment targettypes.

Accordingly, the vehicle 100 may adjust the output position of a type ofimage set by the driver 400 among the images 500 located in the coveredarea 300 so as to provide the type of image desired by the driver 400.

When the image 500 located in the covered area 300 corresponds to anadjustment target type, the controller 150 according to an embodimentmay adjust the output position of the image 500 located in the coveredarea 300 so as to be in an area other than the covered area 300. Thatis, the controller 150 may move the image 500 located in the coveredarea 300 to an area other than the covered area 300.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may control the display110 to output the image 500 in the area other than the covered area 300based on the adjusted output position of the image 500 located in thecovered area 300. Accordingly, the driver 400 may be provided with anoutput position-adjusted image 600, the output position of which isadjusted, so that the image 600 is not covered by the steering wheel120.

That is, the controller 150 may provide the output position-adjustedimage 600 not covered by the steering wheel 120, to the driver 400 byadjusting the output position of the image 500 located in the coveredarea 300 on the display 110, covered by the steering wheel 120.

That is, under the control of the controller 150, the driver 400 may beprovided with the output position-adjusted image 600 on the display 110,which is not covered by the steering wheel 120.

Hereinafter, a control method of the vehicle 100 according to anembodiment will be described. The above-described vehicle 100 accordingto an embodiment may be applied to the following control method of thevehicle 100. Accordingly, unless specifically stated, the foregoingdescriptions given with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 may be equally appliedto the control method of the vehicle 100 according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process of obtaining eye positioninformation based on driver's seat positioning information in thecontrol method of the vehicle according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, the controller 150 according to an embodiment mayobtain the driver's seat positioning information of the driver's seat130 and the steering wheel positioning information of the steering wheel120 from the storage 160 (710).

The driver's seat positioning information may include at least one ofthe position information of the driver's seat 130 and the angleinformation of the driver's seat 130. The position information of thedriver's seat 130 may include the front-rear position information of thecushion 131 of the driver's seat 130 and the height information of thecushion 131 of the driver's seat 130. The angle information of thedriver's seat 130 may include the angle information of the backrest 132of the driver's seat 130.

The driver's seat positioning information may be input by the driver 400using the input devices 170. The controller 150 may adjust the positionand angle of the driver's seat 130 based on the input driver's seatpositioning information.

In addition, the driver's seat positioning information may be stored inthe storage 160, so that the position and angle of the driver's seat 130may be maintained. The controller 150 may obtain the positioninformation and the angle information of the driver's seat 130 indetermination of the covered area 300 based on the driver's seatpositioning information stored in the storage 160 in determination ofthe covered area 300.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may determine the distanceand angle between the steering wheel 120 and the driver's seat 130 basedon the position information and the angle information in the driver'sseat positioning information (720). Here, the controller 150 considersthe steering wheel positioning information indicating the position andangle of the steering wheel 120.

The steering wheel positioning information may include the positioninformation of the steering wheel 120 and the angle information of thesteering wheel 120. The position information of the steering wheel 120may include the height information of the steering wheel 120 based onthe floor surface of the vehicle 100, and the angle information of thesteering wheel 120 may correspond to an angle of the steering wheel 120oriented with respect to the floor surface of the vehicle 100.

The steering wheel positioning information may be input by the driver400 using the input devices 170. The controller 150 may adjust theposition and angle of the steering wheel 120 based on the input steeringwheel positioning information.

In addition, the steering wheel positioning information may be stored inthe storage 160. The controller 150 according to an embodiment mayobtain the steering wheel positioning information in determination ofthe covered area 300 from the storage 160.

That is, the controller 150 may determine the distance between thesteering wheel 120 and the driver's seat 130 and the angle between thesteering wheel 120 and the driver's seat 130 by comparing the positioninformation and the angle information of the driver's seat 130 accordingto the driver's seat positioning information and the positioninformation and the angle information of the steering wheel 120according to the steering wheel positioning information.

The controller 150 may determine the position 450 of the eyes of thedriver 400 based on the distance and angle between the steering wheel120 and the driver's seat 130 and the driver height information (730),and obtain the eye position information based on the determined position450 of the eyes (740).

The driver height information according to an embodiment may correspondto the height information of the driver 400, which is input by thedriver 400 using the input devices 170 and stored in the storage 160.

In addition, the driver height information according to an embodimentmay correspond to the average height information of adults stored in thestorage 160.

The controller 150 may obtain the distance information 410 between thesteering wheel 120 and the position 450 of the eyes of the driver 400and the angle information 420 between the steering wheel 120 and theposition 450 of the eyes of the driver 400 based on the distance andangle between the steering wheel 120 and the driver's seat 130 and thedriver height information.

Specifically, the controller 150 may identify the position and angle ofthe driver's seat 130 based on the driver's seat positioninginformation, and determine the position 450 of the eyes when the driver400 is seated on the driver's seat 130 based on the driver heightinformation.

That is, the controller 150 may estimate the sitting height of thedriver 400 based on the height information of the driver 400 or theaverage height information in the driver height information, anddetermine the position 450 of the eyes of the driver 400 seated on thedriver's seat 130 based on the estimated sitting height.

The controller 150 may obtain the distance information 410 between thesteering wheel 120 and the position 450 of the eyes of the driver 400and the angle information 420 between the steering wheel 120 and theposition 450 of the eyes of the driver 400 based on the determinedposition 450 of the eyes and the distance and angle between the steeringwheel 120 and the driver's seat 130.

In addition, the controller 150 may determine the position 450 of theeyes of the driver 400 with respect to the steering wheel 120 based onthe obtained distance information 410 and the obtained angle information420, and obtain the eye position information indicating the position 450of the eyes of the driver 400 with respect to the steering wheel 120based on the determined position 450 of the eyes.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a process of obtaining eye positioninformation based on a vehicle interior image in the control method ofthe vehicle 100 according to an embodiment.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may obtain a vehicleinterior image from the image sensor 140 (810). The image sensor 140according to an embodiment may be provided on at least one side of thesteering wheel 120 in the front direction of the driver 400.

Specifically, the image sensor 140 according to an embodiment may beprovided on a rear side of the steering wheel 120. For example, theimage sensor 140 may be provided between the steering wheel 120 and thedashboard 210.

Accordingly, the image sensor 140 may be provided on at least one sideof the steering wheel 120 to capture a facial image of the driver 400.Thus, the vehicle interior image captured by the image sensor 140includes the facial image of the driver 400 captured from one side ofthe steering wheel 120.

The controller 150 may determine the distance and angle between thesteering wheel 120 and the eyes of the driver 400 based on the vehicleinterior image (820). That is, the controller 150 may measure thedistance between the steering wheel 120 and the eyes of the driver 400and the angle between the steering wheel 120 and the eyes of the driver400 based on the vehicle interior image.

The controller 150 may determine the position 450 of the eyes of thedriver 400 based on the distance and angle between the steering wheel120 and the eyes of the driver 400 (830), and obtain the eye positioninformation of the driver 400 based on the determined position 450 ofthe eyes (840).

Specifically, the controller 150 may estimate the position 450 of theeyes of the driver 400 with respect to the steering wheel 120 based onthe facial image of the driver 400 captured from at least one side ofthe steering wheel 120, and obtain the eye position informationindicating the position 450 of the eyes of the driver 400 with respectto the steering wheel 120 based on the estimated position 450 of theeyes.

That is, the controller 150 may measure the distance between thesteering wheel 120 and the eyes of the driver 400 and the angle betweenthe steering wheel 120 and the eyes of the driver 400 based on thefacial image of the driver 400 captured from at least one side of thesteering wheel 120, determine the position 450 of the eyes of the driver400 with respect to the steering wheel 120 based on the measureddistance and angle, and obtain the eye position information indicatingthe position 450 of the eyes of the driver 400 with respect to thesteering wheel 120 based on the determined position 450 of the eyes.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process of adjusting the outputposition of the image 500 in the control method of the vehicle 100according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 9, the image 500 may be located in the covered area300 on the display 110 according to an embodiment. That is, the vehicle100 according to an embodiment may have the covered area 300 on thedisplay 110 covered by the steering wheel 120, and the driver 400 maynot receive the image 500 located in the covered area 300.

Accordingly, the controller 150 according to an embodiment may determinethe covered area 300 based on the eye position information and thesteering wheel positioning information (910).

Specifically, the controller 150 may determine the covered area 300based on the eye position information indicating the position 450 of theeyes of the driver 400 with respect to the steering wheel 120 and thesteering wheel positioning information indicating the position and angleof the steering wheel 120.

The controller 150 may determine the covered area 300 on the display110, covered from the view of the driver 400 by the steering wheel 120,based on the distance information 410 between the steering wheel 120 andthe position 450 of the eyes of the driver 400 and the angle information420 between the steering wheel 120 and the position 450 of the eyes ofthe driver 400.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may generate a pluralityof virtual lines linearly connecting the position 450 of the eyes of thedriver 400 and a plurality of points on the display 110 based on the eyeposition information, and determine some virtual lines among theplurality of virtual lines, which are covered by the steering wheel 120and not directly connected to the display 110 based on the steeringwheel positioning information.

The controller 150 may determine the covered area 300 on the display110, covered by the steering wheel 120, based on some virtual linesamong the plurality of virtual lines, which are covered by the steeringwheel 120 and not directly connected to the display 110.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may adjust the outputposition of the image 500 output on the display 110 based on the coveredarea 300.

Specifically, the controller 150 according to an embodiment maydetermine whether or not the image 500 to be output in the covered area300 of the display 110 is present.

When the image 500 to be output in the covered area 300 of the display110 is present (YES in 920), the controller 150 may compare the type ofthe image 500 located in the covered area 300 with the previously-storedimage type data to determine whether or not the type of the image 500located in the covered area 300 corresponds to an adjustment target typeincluded in the image type data.

The image type data may be stored in the storage 160, and may include apreset list of adjustment target types in order to determine the degreeof importance of the image 500 located in the covered area 300.

When the type of the image 500 located in the covered area 300corresponds to an adjustment target type included in thepreviously-stored image type data (YES in 930), the controller 150 mayadjust the output position of the image 500 located in the covered area300 so as to be in an area other than the covered area 300 (940).

The adjustment target types according to an embodiment may include theexternal image of the vehicle output on the display 110 as an image. Theexternal image of the vehicle may include, for example, a forward image,a rear image, and rear side images.

The adjustment target types according to an embodiment may include thedriving information output on the display 110 as an image. The drivinginformation may include a vehicle speed, an engine RPM, a cooling watertemperature, a fuel level, a shift gear status, a driven distance, adrivable distance, and the like.

The external image of the vehicle and the driving information, which maybe directly related to safe driving of the vehicle 100, as describedabove, may be set as default values of the adjustment target types andincluded in the image type data.

In addition, the adjustment target types according to an embodiment maybe set based on inputs made by the driver 400 using the input devices170. That is, the driver 400 may set adjustment target types to beoutput position adjustment targets in the image 500 located in thecovered area 300 using the input devices 170.

Specifically, the controller 150 according to an embodiment maydetermine the adjustment target types based on inputs of the driver 400,and update the image type data based on the determined adjustment targettypes.

When the image 500 located in the covered area 300 corresponds to anadjustment target type, the controller 150 according to an embodimentmay adjust the output position of the image 500 located in the coveredarea 300 so as to be in an area other than the covered area 300. Thatis, the controller 150 may move the image 500 located in the coveredarea 300 to an area other than the covered area 300.

The controller 150 according to an embodiment may control the display110 to output the image 500 in the area other than the covered area 300based on the adjusted output position of the image 500 located in thecovered area 300 (950). Accordingly, the driver 400 may be provided withan output position-adjusted image 600, the output position of which isadjusted, so that the image 600 is not covered by the steering wheel120.

That is, the controller 150 may provide the output position-adjustedimage 600, not covered by the steering wheel 120, to the driver 400 byadjusting the output position of the image 500 located in the coveredarea 300 on the display 110, covered by the steering wheel 120. That is,under the control of the controller 150, the driver 400 may be providedwith the output position-adjusted image 600 on the display 110, which isnot covered by the steering wheel 120.

Embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in the form of arecording medium in which computer-readable instructions are stored.Instructions may be stored in the form of program codes, and whenexecuted by a processor, may perform the operations of the embodimentsdisclosed herein by generating program modules. The recording medium maybe implemented as a computer readable record medium.

The computer-readable recording medium may be any type of recordingmedium in which computer-readable instructions are stored. For example,the computer-readable recording medium may be, but is not limited to,read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a magnetic tape, amagnetic disk, flash memory, and an optical data storage.

The foregoing descriptions and the accompanying drawings have beenpresented in order to explain the certain principles of the presentdisclosure. A person skilled in the art to which the present disclosurerelates could make various modifications and variations by combining,dividing, substituting for, or changing the elements without departingfrom the principle of the present disclosure. The foregoing embodimentsdisclosed herein shall be interpreted as being illustrative, while notbeing limitative, of the principle and scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle comprising: a position-adjustablesteering wheel; a position-adjustable driver's seat; a display extendingon the dashboard from one side facing the driver's seat to another sidein which a center fascia is disposed; at least one image sensorconfigured to capture a vehicle interior image including a facial imageof a driver; a storage configured to store driver's seat positioninginformation of the driver's seat and steering wheel positioninginformation of the steering wheel; and a controller configured to obtaineye position information indicating a position of each of eyes of thedriver with respect to the steering wheel based on at least one of thedriver's seat positioning information or the vehicle interior image, todetermine a covered area, which is covered by the steering wheel on thedisplay, based on the eye position information and the steering wheelpositioning information, and to adjust an output position of an imageoutput on the display based on the covered area, wherein the controlleris configured to obtain the eye position information by determining adistance and an angle between the steering wheel and the driver's seatbased on the driver's seat positioning information and by determiningthe position of the eyes of the driver based on the distance and theangle between the steering wheel and the driver's seat and driver heightinformation.
 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the driver'sseat positioning information comprises position information of thedriver's seat and angle information of the driver's seat.
 3. The vehicleaccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one image sensor comprises atleast one of a camera configured to capture the vehicle interior imagein a visible light range or an infrared camera configured to capture thevehicle interior image in an infrared ray range.
 4. The vehicleaccording to claim 3, wherein the controller obtains the eye positioninformation by determining the distance and the angle between thesteering wheel and the eyes of the driver based on the vehicle interiorimage captured by the at least one image sensor and determining theposition of each of the eyes of the driver based on the distance and theangle between the steering wheel and the eyes of the driver.
 5. Thevehicle according to claim 1, wherein the eye position informationcomprises distance information between the steering wheel and theposition of each of the eyes of the driver and angle information betweenthe steering wheel and the position of each of the eyes of the driver.6. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the controller determineswhether or not an image to be output in the covered area of the displayis present.
 7. The vehicle according to claim 6, wherein, when the imageto be output in the covered area is present, the controller compares atype of the image with previously-stored image type data and determineswhether or not the type of the image corresponds to an adjustment targettype included in the image type data.
 8. The vehicle according to claim7, wherein the adjustment target type comprises at least one of a rearside image, a rear image, or driving information of the vehicle.
 9. Thevehicle according to claim 7, further comprising an input deviceconfigured to receive an input of the driver, wherein the controllerupdates the image type data by determining the adjustment target typebased on the input of the driver.
 10. The vehicle according to claim 7,wherein, when the type of the image corresponds to the adjustment targettype, the controller adjusts the output position of the image to be inan area other than the covered area.
 11. The vehicle according to claim10, wherein the controller controls the display to output the imagebased on the adjusted output position of the image.
 12. A control methodof a vehicle, comprising steps of: obtaining a vehicle interior imageincluding a facial image of a driver using at least one image sensor;obtaining driver's seat positioning information of a driver's seat andsteering wheel positioning information of the steering wheel stored in astorage, wherein the driver's seat and the steering wheel are configuredto be position-adjustable; obtaining eye position information indicatinga position of each of eyes of the driver with respect to the steeringwheel based on at least one of the driver's seat positioning informationor the vehicle interior image; determining a covered area, which iscovered by the steering wheel on a display, based on the eye positioninformation and the steering wheel positioning information, wherein thedisplay extends from one side of a dashboard facing the driver's seat toanother side of the dashboard, in which a center fascia is disposed; andadjusting an output position of an image output on the display based onthe covered area, wherein the step of obtaining the eye positioninformation comprises: determining a distance and an angle between thesteering wheel and the driver's seat based on the driver's seatpositioning information; and determining the position of each of theeyes of the driver based on the distance and the angle between thesteering wheel and the driver's seat and driver height information. 13.The control method according to claim 12, wherein the driver's seatpositioning information comprises position information of the driver'sseat and angle information of the driver's seat.
 14. The control methodaccording to claim 12, wherein the vehicle interior image comprises atleast one of the vehicle interior image in a visible light range or thevehicle interior image in an infrared ray range.
 15. The control methodaccording to claim 14, wherein the step of obtaining the eye positioninformation comprises: determining the distance and the angle betweenthe steering wheel and the eyes of the driver based on the vehicleinterior image captured by the at least one image sensor; anddetermining the position of each of the eyes of the driver based on thedistance and the angle between the steering wheel and the eyes of thedriver.
 16. The control method according to claim 12, wherein the eyeposition information comprises distance information between the steeringwheel and the position of each of the eyes of the driver and angleinformation between the steering wheel and the position of each of theeyes of the driver.
 17. The control method according to claim 12,further comprising a step of determining whether or not an image to beoutput in the covered area of the display is present.
 18. The controlmethod according to claim 17, further comprising steps of, when theimage to be output in the covered area is present: comparing a type ofthe image with previously-stored image type data; and determiningwhether or not the type of the image corresponds to an adjustment targettype included in the image type data.
 19. The control method accordingto claim 18, wherein the adjustment target type comprises at least oneof a rear side image, a rear image, or driving information of thevehicle.
 20. The control method according to claim 18, furthercomprising steps of: receiving an input of the driver; and updating theimage type data by determining the adjustment target type based on theinput of the driver.
 21. The control method according to claim 18,further comprising a step of, when the type of the image corresponds tothe adjustment target type adjusting the output position of the image tobe in an area other than the covered area.
 22. The control methodaccording to claim 21, further comprising a step of controlling thedisplay to output the image based on the adjusted output position of theimage.